Threat Intel, Startups & Scaling Europe’s Cyber Future with Marco Riccardi

In this episode of Cyber Security District, we sit down with Marco Riccardi, threat intelligence expert, startup founder, and the mind behind QuoIntelligence. From getting his first computer at age 7 to running cyber operations at Deutsche Bank and the European Central Bank, Marco’s journey is anything but linear. He’s built a deep-tech company protecting European infrastructure, all while fusing AI, geopolitics, and intelligence analysis into a single mission: safeguarding Europe’s digital future.

Marco is the founder and CEO of QuoIntelligence, a fast-growing European scale-up tackling the growing need for context-aware threat intelligence. His roots lie in coding and hacking, but his vision is firmly set on building an intelligence powerhouse grounded in critical thinking, geopolitics, and predictive security. In this episode, he breaks down the gaps in the vendor market, why Europe needs its own intelligence solutions, and what it takes to scale a security company without losing its soul.

We cover:

• Marco’s early obsession with computers and hacking
• His time in military psy-ops and its influence on his thinking
• Building threat intel teams at European Central Bank and Deutsche Bank
• Spotting the market gap that led to founding QuoIntelligence
• The rise of AI in cyber defense and offense
• Why most security teams fail at scaling
• His philosophy on intelligence, communication, and critical thinking
• Lessons from five years of building a remote-first startup
• The future of European cybersecurity

Whether you’re a cyber leader, an aspiring threat analyst, or simply curious about how intelligence intersects with business, this episode offers a raw, honest, and insightful look into one of Europe’s most original cybersecurity minds.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:00 – Meet Marco Riccardi
04:00 – First Hacking Experiences at Age 11
07:45 – From Military Psy-Ops to Cybersecurity
11:30 – Moving to Barcelona & Malware Research
16:00 – Career at ECB and Deutsche Bank
21:15 – Why Europe Lacked Local Threat Intel Vendors
25:30 – Intelligence as a Business Advantage
30:00 – Building QuoIntelligence
35:50 – Starting a Company During COVID
39:30 – Lessons in Scaling: Hiring Mistakes & Culture
44:00 – The Power of AI in Cybersecurity
48:30 – What Threat Actors Are Doing with AI
53:00 – Advice for Entering Threat Intelligence
58:30 – Final Message to CISOs Worldwide

Connect with the guest:
Marco Riccardi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcoriccardi/
Learn more about QuoIntelligence: https://www.quointelligence.eu

Follow Cyber Security District:
Laurens Jagt (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurensjagt/
Website: https://www.cybersecuritydistrict.com
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